Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Ratings:
Ease with which to listen/enjoyable narration style 5.0
Suitable ending 5.0
Personal favoritism 4.75
Poetic language 3.5
Memorable 4.75
Original, creative plot 4.75
Original, well-developed characters 4.5
Probability of recommendation 5.0
Ability to "move" emotionally 3.5
Literary value and/or educational value 3.5
Total: 44.25
Final Rating: 4 stars
4-sentence summary:
Lyra Belacqua is a headstrong 11-year-old orphan growing up in a university full of scholars in an 18th century setting. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, comes to visit her often, and it is on one of these visits that Lyra stumbles upon a great secret that could change the course of human history. She embarks on a journey, accompanied by several unusual but fascinating friends (including an armored polar bear) to find the truth of what she's learned and to save the ones she loves.
Critique:
I will address two aspects of this book. Firstly, the audiobook quality. It is phenomenal. There is a full cast for the voice actors; and they are all cast perfectly. It was like watching a movie while driving; the emotions of the actors were so real and perfectly done that it was extremely difficult to leave the audiobook behind when a journey was over. I would highly recommend to anyone considering this story to get the audiobook (narrated by Philip Pullman himself, who has a deep and lyrical voice). Stephen has a copy if you are interested.
Secondly, the plot itself. The progression of this book is comparable to an avalanche. Although there is a slow start, it soon starts flying toward more and more secrets and plot-twists and climaxes that you are left breathless and wondering. Lyra is an admirable character (truly a mini-heroine), and the other characters in the book are so incredibly realistic (even in this fantasy world) that you feel you could reach out and touch them.
Now. If you've heard anything about the book, it's either that people were disappointed with the movie rendition or you've heard the uproar about the anti-Catholicism themes. I'll tell you this much: Do NOT watch the movie first. It is an accurate account of the book but leaves out the most important part: the ending.
The anti-Catholicism is slight, but it is definitely there. There is a hint of it at the end of this book (which is somewhat confusing until you read the rest of the series) and then more of it throughout the remaining books. As far as a book recommendation for youngsters go, I would still highly recommend this book. The first book has hardly any references to the "evils of the Catholic church" (and they are obscure, at that). If you decide to read "The Subtle Knife" or "The Amber Spyglass" (the two remaining books in the trilogy) you will find more theology than you know what to do with. But the themes of religion are important to the plot (as the villain in this book is the church called the Magisterium) and you can overlook the Catholic references in light of a higher-purpose in the book. Do not be intimidated by these themes or their critiques: truly, they are minimal in comparison to the epic nature of the book.
All in all, this book is amazing. It's a young adult novel, but it's packed full of adult themes like forgiveness, vengeance, and so on. The story is memorable and original, and the ending of this book is breathtaking. Highly recommended!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat
Genre: War-time Memoir (nonfiction biography)
Ratings:
Ease with which to read/enjoyable author style 4.0
Suitable ending 3.5
Personal favoritism 3.5
Poetic language 3.5
Memorable 4.75
Original, creative plot 4.75
Original, well-developed characters 4.5
Probability of recommendation 5.0
Ability to "move" emotionally 5.0
Literary value and/or educational value 5.0
Total: 43.5
Final Rating: 4 stars
4-sentence summary:
Marina Nemat, in her striking memoir, was a 16-year-old girl living in Tehran, Iran when the Ayatollah had her arrested and sent to a prison camp named Evin. Marina, struggling through the tortures of the camp and the deaths of her friends, is given a literal "get out of jail free" card, but at a terrible cost. In a combination of both flashbacks, present-day, and Iran in the 1980's, Marina tells her tale with sadness and remorse and leaves you wondering at humanity's capacity for good and evil.
Critique:
I don't know much about Iran, or the Ayatollah, and I'd never heard of Evin before. However, we've all read prison tales (think Holocaust) .... and the themes are the same. The captors try to break the bodies and spirits of their prisoners. It's an intimidating task to read a novel such as this, but I believe it is essential.
This book was not as gruesome as it could have been; Marina refrains from the harsher details. One of my main criticisms of the book is that I personally don't agree with Marina on a moral level. She has a very black-and-white view of morality, good and evil. In my case, though, as shown through this novel, I believe that even "evil people" (torturers, prison guards) have the capacity for good. Marina was a frustrating but very realistic narrator. Her self-questioning keeps you in the moment and second-guessing what will happen next. The novel was written very plainly (with no complicated prose) and was kept to a reasonable length; I read it within 24 hours.
I think this book would be an excellent choice for a high school library or in any high school English or Social Studies class; our students need to know what is happening around the world so they can learn from the past. I would definitely pair this book with "Stolen Lives" (by Malika Oufkir). Both are tales of revolutions in countries that I've never paid much attention to (Morocco and Iran), and the degradation of beautiful, healthy countries into miserable dictatorships. Both are tales of women coming-of-age inside a prison cell. And both tell of the capacity for human beings to survive against all odds. This book will be staying on my shelf.
Ratings:
Ease with which to read/enjoyable author style 4.0
Suitable ending 3.5
Personal favoritism 3.5
Poetic language 3.5
Memorable 4.75
Original, creative plot 4.75
Original, well-developed characters 4.5
Probability of recommendation 5.0
Ability to "move" emotionally 5.0
Literary value and/or educational value 5.0
Total: 43.5
Final Rating: 4 stars
4-sentence summary:
Marina Nemat, in her striking memoir, was a 16-year-old girl living in Tehran, Iran when the Ayatollah had her arrested and sent to a prison camp named Evin. Marina, struggling through the tortures of the camp and the deaths of her friends, is given a literal "get out of jail free" card, but at a terrible cost. In a combination of both flashbacks, present-day, and Iran in the 1980's, Marina tells her tale with sadness and remorse and leaves you wondering at humanity's capacity for good and evil.
Critique:
I don't know much about Iran, or the Ayatollah, and I'd never heard of Evin before. However, we've all read prison tales (think Holocaust) .... and the themes are the same. The captors try to break the bodies and spirits of their prisoners. It's an intimidating task to read a novel such as this, but I believe it is essential.
This book was not as gruesome as it could have been; Marina refrains from the harsher details. One of my main criticisms of the book is that I personally don't agree with Marina on a moral level. She has a very black-and-white view of morality, good and evil. In my case, though, as shown through this novel, I believe that even "evil people" (torturers, prison guards) have the capacity for good. Marina was a frustrating but very realistic narrator. Her self-questioning keeps you in the moment and second-guessing what will happen next. The novel was written very plainly (with no complicated prose) and was kept to a reasonable length; I read it within 24 hours.
I think this book would be an excellent choice for a high school library or in any high school English or Social Studies class; our students need to know what is happening around the world so they can learn from the past. I would definitely pair this book with "Stolen Lives" (by Malika Oufkir). Both are tales of revolutions in countries that I've never paid much attention to (Morocco and Iran), and the degradation of beautiful, healthy countries into miserable dictatorships. Both are tales of women coming-of-age inside a prison cell. And both tell of the capacity for human beings to survive against all odds. This book will be staying on my shelf.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Genre: Fiction
Ratings:
Ease with which to read/enjoyable author style 2.5
Suitable ending 1.75
Personal favoritism 1.75
Poetic language 2.0
Memorable 2.0
Original, creative plot 3.5
Original, well-developed characters 2.75
Probability of recommendation 1.5
Ability to "move" emotionally 2.0
Literary value and/or educational value 1.5
Total: 21.25
Final Rating: 2 stars
4-sentence summary:
Edgar Sawtelle's family raises a fictional breed of dogs, known as the "Sawtelle Dogs", whose companionship and clear-focus is idealized by Almondine, Edgar's best friend. Edgar, having been born mute, relies heavily on his parents and the dogs for his daily life. But when Edgar's father is murdered, Edgar is forced to flee into the wilderness with some of the dogs and fend for himself.
Critique:
This book had so much promise, and was highly recommended not just by Oprah but by Target and reviewers. I generally enjoy books with such high reviews; but this time, I did not.
The first 150 pages could be eliminated. Dry, overly-flourished prose about the idyllic family make the plot unbearable and stagnant. It is only when Edgar is forced into the wild that the author truly comes into a beautiful writing style: a sort of new "Hatchet". But it has such self-importance that it is difficult to take seriously. A sample: "All around, fireflies glowed their radium bellies" (page 331). The prose is too fancy for the plot, which is stagnant and unoriginal. Instead of feeling inspired, it feels heavy and misplaced.
The villain of the book, Claude, has no real motivation for his villainous actions. Occasionally, the author uses a chapter to tell another character's point of view other than Edgar's: his mother's, his dog's, and Claude's. But these chapters do not provide any additional insights into the characters or the plot at all and serve as filler for this lengthy book. The book is 560 pages long; the story could be told in 200.
Finally, the ultimate point of the book: "Why are the Sawtelle dogs so important" is lost on the reader, as Edgar never reveals the secret. The story ends from the perspective of Essay, a Sawtelle dog who has run away. ... What?! This incoherent plot, bizarre obsession with training dogs, and incredibly useless length of the flowery prose is a sure sign that this book is going up for sale at my next yard sale.
Ratings:
Ease with which to read/enjoyable author style 2.5
Suitable ending 1.75
Personal favoritism 1.75
Poetic language 2.0
Memorable 2.0
Original, creative plot 3.5
Original, well-developed characters 2.75
Probability of recommendation 1.5
Ability to "move" emotionally 2.0
Literary value and/or educational value 1.5
Total: 21.25
Final Rating: 2 stars
4-sentence summary:
Edgar Sawtelle's family raises a fictional breed of dogs, known as the "Sawtelle Dogs", whose companionship and clear-focus is idealized by Almondine, Edgar's best friend. Edgar, having been born mute, relies heavily on his parents and the dogs for his daily life. But when Edgar's father is murdered, Edgar is forced to flee into the wilderness with some of the dogs and fend for himself.
Critique:
This book had so much promise, and was highly recommended not just by Oprah but by Target and reviewers. I generally enjoy books with such high reviews; but this time, I did not.
The first 150 pages could be eliminated. Dry, overly-flourished prose about the idyllic family make the plot unbearable and stagnant. It is only when Edgar is forced into the wild that the author truly comes into a beautiful writing style: a sort of new "Hatchet". But it has such self-importance that it is difficult to take seriously. A sample: "All around, fireflies glowed their radium bellies" (page 331). The prose is too fancy for the plot, which is stagnant and unoriginal. Instead of feeling inspired, it feels heavy and misplaced.
The villain of the book, Claude, has no real motivation for his villainous actions. Occasionally, the author uses a chapter to tell another character's point of view other than Edgar's: his mother's, his dog's, and Claude's. But these chapters do not provide any additional insights into the characters or the plot at all and serve as filler for this lengthy book. The book is 560 pages long; the story could be told in 200.
Finally, the ultimate point of the book: "Why are the Sawtelle dogs so important" is lost on the reader, as Edgar never reveals the secret. The story ends from the perspective of Essay, a Sawtelle dog who has run away. ... What?! This incoherent plot, bizarre obsession with training dogs, and incredibly useless length of the flowery prose is a sure sign that this book is going up for sale at my next yard sale.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Ratings:
Ease with which to read/enjoyable author style 4.0
Suitable ending 3.5
Personal favoritism 2.75
Poetic language 2.0
Memorable 4.5
Original, creative plot 4.0
Original, well-developed characters 3.5
Probability of recommendation 3.0
Ability to "move" emotionally 3.5
Literary value and/or educational value 2.5
Total: 33.25
Final Rating: 3 1/2 stars
4-sentence summary:
Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games- twice- and has been rescued by the mysterious District 13. She is left to mourn Peeta's fate and help the rebellion by being their "Mockingjay"- the symbol of the rebellion. District 13 rallies the other Colonies to fight against the Capitol, and the world changes forever.
Critique:
I read a review on Amazon.com that really stuck with me, and really sticks to the point: "I lost count how many times she woke up in the hospital while the story unfolded around her but always without her." The problem with this story is not Katniss' 15-page-long lamentations about how she has failed everyone around her, but how she fails to act at all. There are moments in this book where the plot is moving forward, moving forward, about to climax, and then Katniss gets knocked out and the plot moves forward without her. It is as though the author couldn't figure out how to get Katniss to act the way she wanted, so just wrote the plot without her in it. Katniss was a likable character in The Hunger Games- she is no longer likable. She spends this whole book whining about how she is too numb to go on, somehow gets the credit for everything good that happens, and then causes the deaths of thousands of people without any blame or repercussion.
The villain, President Snow, is so poorly developed it's laughable. Though he is involved in several plot twists at the end of the book, the plot was so heavily focused on "war is bad" that the "evil government" took a back seat for the majority of the book: missing the point of the first book entirely. The singular goal of "Kill Snow" misses the point as well- where is believable motivation in this book? President Coin, the other President, is also so poorly developed you have no idea at all who she is. Both characters could have been eliminated from the book and nothing would really be missing.
Finally, the real bummer about this book, is the love triangle between Peeta, Gale, and Katniss. Twilight, anyone? In case you're wondering- yes, the love triangle is resolved on the last page of the book. And it makes no sense at all! The plot would have been better served if Katniss fell in love with Buttercup, the cat, for all the reason and emotion behind her final choice. So the one resolution that I actually looked forward to in this book fell very flat.
Overall, I would heartily recommend The Hunger Games. That book is a 5/5 stars in my mind. But Mockingjay does not even come close to the passion, excitement, and innovative plot of the original. This novel falls flat of every hope and expectation, or even of any reasonable plot line or likable character. A true shame; this plot could have been fabulous.
I choose to rewrite this plot in my head so that it ends with a bang: something this plot and these characters truly deserved. Feel free to read this book out of curiosity- but then come to me and we can rewrite this story based on its epic foundations and make sure it truly comes to life.
Ratings:
Ease with which to read/enjoyable author style 4.0
Suitable ending 3.5
Personal favoritism 2.75
Poetic language 2.0
Memorable 4.5
Original, creative plot 4.0
Original, well-developed characters 3.5
Probability of recommendation 3.0
Ability to "move" emotionally 3.5
Literary value and/or educational value 2.5
Total: 33.25
Final Rating: 3 1/2 stars
4-sentence summary:
Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games- twice- and has been rescued by the mysterious District 13. She is left to mourn Peeta's fate and help the rebellion by being their "Mockingjay"- the symbol of the rebellion. District 13 rallies the other Colonies to fight against the Capitol, and the world changes forever.
Critique:
I read a review on Amazon.com that really stuck with me, and really sticks to the point: "I lost count how many times she woke up in the hospital while the story unfolded around her but always without her." The problem with this story is not Katniss' 15-page-long lamentations about how she has failed everyone around her, but how she fails to act at all. There are moments in this book where the plot is moving forward, moving forward, about to climax, and then Katniss gets knocked out and the plot moves forward without her. It is as though the author couldn't figure out how to get Katniss to act the way she wanted, so just wrote the plot without her in it. Katniss was a likable character in The Hunger Games- she is no longer likable. She spends this whole book whining about how she is too numb to go on, somehow gets the credit for everything good that happens, and then causes the deaths of thousands of people without any blame or repercussion.
The villain, President Snow, is so poorly developed it's laughable. Though he is involved in several plot twists at the end of the book, the plot was so heavily focused on "war is bad" that the "evil government" took a back seat for the majority of the book: missing the point of the first book entirely. The singular goal of "Kill Snow" misses the point as well- where is believable motivation in this book? President Coin, the other President, is also so poorly developed you have no idea at all who she is. Both characters could have been eliminated from the book and nothing would really be missing.
Finally, the real bummer about this book, is the love triangle between Peeta, Gale, and Katniss. Twilight, anyone? In case you're wondering- yes, the love triangle is resolved on the last page of the book. And it makes no sense at all! The plot would have been better served if Katniss fell in love with Buttercup, the cat, for all the reason and emotion behind her final choice. So the one resolution that I actually looked forward to in this book fell very flat.
Overall, I would heartily recommend The Hunger Games. That book is a 5/5 stars in my mind. But Mockingjay does not even come close to the passion, excitement, and innovative plot of the original. This novel falls flat of every hope and expectation, or even of any reasonable plot line or likable character. A true shame; this plot could have been fabulous.
I choose to rewrite this plot in my head so that it ends with a bang: something this plot and these characters truly deserved. Feel free to read this book out of curiosity- but then come to me and we can rewrite this story based on its epic foundations and make sure it truly comes to life.
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